Adult Baby

About the album

Released in 2008 (originally on Melbourne label Unstable Ape), Chapter boss man Guy Blackman’s one and only solo album Adult Baby was the result of almost three years of steadfast toil. Lush strings, dynamic horns and shimmering vibes complement Guy’s emotional songwriting, with a host of special guests queueing up to lend a hand.

Beginning in 2005 with Melbourne-based American producer Casey Rice (Tortoise, Ben Lee, Liz Phair) at the helm, recording progressed slowly but surely, involving at least five studios and more than 20 supporting musicians. Besides the steamy duet with Swedish pop star Jens Lekman (Dark And Quiet Place) and the fragile girl group vocal from The Art Of Fighting’s Peggy Frew (Johnny), there are cameos from members of the Dirty Three, Crayon Fields, Pikelet, Eddy Current Suppression Ring, Ground Components, Fabulous Diamonds and many more.

This was Guy’s first solo album, but certainly not his musical debut. Guy has served in Melbourne groups Sleepy Township and Minimum Chips, who both released records on labels all over the world, and these days plays with soft rock supergroup Montero, as well as the occasional project Guy & Marcus Blackman Experimentation, with Marcus Rechsteiner from the UV Race. As a solo artist, however, he presents himself as a balladeer, playing deftly constructed songs on piano and guitar that deal frankly with issues of love, sexuality and commitment. He describes his music, tongue-in-cheek, as “M.O.R. D.I.Y.”, and his songs evoke comparisons to Brian Wilson, Tim Hardin, Serge Gainsbourg and The Left Banke. Honesty, emotion and personal revelation are the focal points of his work, although none come at the expense of melody or songcraft.

In Australia, he has shared stages with a host of international names such as Final Fantasy, John Grant, Vashti Bunyan, Joanna Newsom, Bill Callahan, Jens Lekman, Calvin Johnson, Mt Eerie, The Blow, Karl Blau, Josephine Foster and Dear Nora, while his former bands supported Cat Power, Stereolab and Elliott Smith, amongst others.